By Rita Enemuru, Reporting
PROCEEDINGS in the long-running legal battle over the suspension of the Ologbotsere of Warri Kingdom were again halted on Monday as the Delta State High Court sitting in Warri adjourned the matter to March 16 due to procedural setbacks.
The suit, involving Chief Ayiri Emami and the Warri Kingdom, could not move forward as scheduled because a pretrial conference fixed for the day failed to hold.
The case was presided over by Justice Veronica Agboje at High Court 04, Warri, Delta State.
Addressing newsmen after the court session, counsel to Chief Ayiri Emami, Chief Emmanuel Uti, attributed the setback to the late filing of processes by the second defendant.
“Today was fixed for a pretrial conference. Unfortunately, the second defendant’s counsel filed out of time and served us the processes only this morning. Because of that, we now have 14 days to examine what has been filed, and this affected the pretrial conference that was supposed to take place today,” he said.
Uti maintained that the claimant is challenging the legality of the suspension, insisting that those who took the action lacked the authority to do so under Itsekiri customary practice.
“Our position is that the ruling house that purported to suspend Chief Ayiri as the Ologbotsere of Warri Kingdom had no such power. Co-chiefs cannot suspend a co-chief. There was no enforceable code of conduct during the reign of Ogiame Ikenwoli; what existed was merely a draft. A committee cannot suspend a co-chief, and the Ginuwa Ruling House equally has no power to suspend a chief,” he stated.
He further disclosed that the claimant intends to rely on statements made by one of the defendants to support his case.
“One of the defendants, Chief Mene Brown, clearly stated that princes have nothing to say in matters concerning a chief. He was quoted, and we have the video evidence. We will rely on it to show that a prince cannot suspend a chief,” Uti added.
However, counsel to the seventh to the tenth defendants, Ame Oriakhi, said the defendants were firmly opposed to the reliefs sought by the claimant.
Oriakhi argued that events had overtaken the claimant’s request, noting that the suspension had already taken effect.
“The claimant wants the court to set aside his suspension as a chief of Warri Kingdom, and we are saying no.
“The suspension has happened, and he was offered another chieftaincy title, which he rejected. Even if the suspension is lifted today, it will serve no useful purpose. A substantive Ologbotsere has been appointed by His Majesty, the Olu of Warri, who has the prerogative to appoint his chiefs. The current Ologbotsere is functioning in that capacity at the palace of the Olu of Warri,” he said.
He added that the action was taken before the emergence of the current monarch.
“It was not the present Olu of Warri who suspended him. The suspension took place before his ascension to the throne. After his ascension, there was an effort to restore peace. Following appeals from various quarters, the king recalled him and offered him another chieftaincy title, but he declined,” Oriakhi stated.
Reacting to the adjournment, Chief Ayiri Emami accused the defendants of deliberately prolonging the case through repeated delays.
“This case has dragged on for almost four years. They have continued to delay the process. What happened again today was the late filing of processes as a means of securing another adjournment. Justice may be delayed, but it will not be denied,” he said.
He stressed that he and the Ologbotsere family remained resolute.
“The Ologbotsere family and I are fully ready for this case. We have no issues. By March 16, we will be in court. It is a clear and straightforward matter. No family in Itsekiri land has the right to suspend any chief. They think I will give up, but I will never do so,” Emami added.
Also speaking, the spokesperson for Ologbotsere descendants worldwide, Comrade Alex Eyengho, described the case as simple and criticised what he termed persistent attempts to frustrate the trial.
“The court adjourned the matter to March for a pretrial conference. The trial was meant to begin today, and our lawyers were fully prepared, but the defendants have continued their pattern of delay by filing one application after another for nearly four years,” he said.
Eyengho insisted that no authority in Warri Kingdom has the power to suspend a chief.
“By law, it is a straightforward issue. Nobody in Warri Kingdom has the power to suspend even the smallest chief, not to talk of the number one chief of the kingdom, the Ologbotsere. The royal family purportedly suspended the Ologbotsere of Warri Kingdom, who plays a central role in the kingdom’s succession process,” he added.
Justice Agboje subsequently adjourned the case to March 16, 2026, for the continuation of the pretrial conference.
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